Possible Weekend Meteor Shower

Earth is about to pass through a stream of debris from Halley's Comet, source of the annual Orionid meteor shower. Forecasters expect the shower to peak on Saturday morning, Oct. 22nd, with more than 15 meteors per hour. Earth isn't the only world in the debris stream; NASA researchers will also be watching for meteoroid strikes on the Moon. 

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/20oct_orionids/

The best time to look for meteors is after midnight and closer to dawn. The reason for this is because of where the meteors appear to come from. As these leftover tiny sand size particles continue to fly through space, following the comet which departed from our local area in 1986, the Earth’s orbit takes us through that stream. The meteors enter our atmosphere in more or less a localized area. As we look up into the night sky, that area is in the vicinity of the constellation Orion, the mighty hunter, and they fan out like the spokes of a wheel so you really don’t look at the hub in Orion but all around it.

Orion is one of the easier patterns to see in the night sky, even with light pollution, due to the 4 fairly bright stars which make up the rectangle of his shoulders and knees, (the left shoulder is a really pretty supergiant red star named Betelgeuse) and the 3 bright stars in a line marking his belt. If you look just below these stars, you may be able to see his sword with your unaided eyes. Look again with binoculars or a telescope and you will be treated to a very nice little fuzzy patch of nebulosity which is the birthplace of new stars. Sneak a peek at this interstellar nursery someday. Our observatory in Southold is open on clear Saturday nights and you may get a glimpse of this little gem when it becomes prominent during the winter nights. See our website for directions, www.aosny.org.

See a further explanation with photos and diagrams at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(constellation).

So, what’s the best way to see these meteors? You need to find an area that will give you a view of the most sky possible. They lie down on a lounge chair, don’t forget the blanket and hot chocolate, and just stare up at the beautiful star filled night sky. Don’t concentrate on any one area. With luck, you will be rewarded with the fiery short, but bright and sometimes colored, meteors in their last gasp before becoming dust and vapor which rain down upon us.

Did you know you could collect these micrometeorites? Place a container under the drain spout from your roof the next time it rains. You’ll see lots of particles left behind. Some will be bits from you roof, others will be attracted to a magnet and most likely micrometeorites. Put a magnet inside a plastic bag to collect them and then turn the bag inside out so you don’t lose them. Check it out under a microscope and you will be amazed with your new collection of space particles, leftover from when the solar system formed 4.5 billion years ago.

If you miss Sat morning, there will probably be some stragglers left for Sun morning.

So, the upcoming, mostly clear weekend gives you an opportunity to work on the WorldWide Star Count, see my previous post, see a meteor shower and attend Family Astronomy Day on Sunday at the East Meadow Library where we’ll show you the Sun & Moon through telescopes amongst a host of other activities.

I did warn you about some possible homework when I started this blog and invited you to join me on the journey of exploration. J

Hope to see you soon.

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